1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to handgun holsters and more particularly concerns a universal handgun carrying system, more commonly known as a holster, being designed for user waist belt support for positioning and support of a wide variety of both semi-automatic and revolver type handgun frame designs. Even further, the present invention enables waist belt support and positioning of some types of rifles and shotguns.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Handguns are provided in two general configurations, revolver type and semi-automatic type handguns. These handgun types are significantly different and generally require separate types of holsters for adequate gun support and efficiency of gun insertion, transportation and extraction. At the present time, except for the sporting firearm industry, handguns are carried by waist belt supported holsters by law enforcement personnel who typically require holsters that permit the handgun, regardless of its type, to be quickly and efficiently extracted from a holster or inserted into a holster. Such personnel also typically require the handgun to be securely retained within the holster to permit running, jumping, entering and leaving automobile vehicles without risk of the handgun inadvertently becoming separated from the holster. Law enforcement personnel also typically require handguns to be secured within holsters in a manner that it is difficult for another person to remove the handgun from the holster without difficulty. Since revolver type handguns typically fit only one type of handgun holster and semi-automatic type handguns typically only a single type of holster, a wide variety of holster designs have been developed. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a universal handgun holster that can provide effective support for both revolver and semi-automatic types of handguns and to provide stable and efficient support therefor. It is also desirable to provide a handgun holster having the capability for securing a handgun therein in a manner that the handgun is readily available for simple and efficient removal from the holster by the user, but is extremely difficult to remove from the holster by force. It is also desirable to provide a handgun holster that positions a handgun, regardless of its type, for stable and efficient carrying by the user, even while strenuous exercise or body movement occurs.
Almost all handgun carriers (holsters) are made of two pieces of leather, one on the inside sewn or glued to a piece on the outside, between which the handgun is carried. Most are configured to fit only a particular brand, style, or model number and no others. Many of these are molded to fit exactly the contours of a particular handgun. Because of the full layer(s) of leather between the handgun and the body of the wearer, many protrude outward from the body of the wearer, making the handgun less concealable, a major factor with law enforcement agencies and officers. Also, the further away from the body the frame extends, the accessibility to the gun by others is increased.
This invention is unique in that heretofore a holster was considered to be something which, because it was an item totally separate and apart from the wearer's clothing, had to be constructed and functionally separate as well.
Virtually all handgun holsters previously have been designed to have two separate panels of material, sewn together at opposing ends, or one piece of material "wrapped around" or folded and sewn together, to form a pocket or pouch into which a handgun was placed. The pouch of the holster is typically created when the two separate panels of material are placed one on top of the other. Then along a vertical line at each end of the material and within the outer perimeter of the material the panels of material are typically stitched together. Then between that line of stitching and the ends is typically cut a belt slot through which the wearer would lace a waist belt to provide support for the holster. The resulting holster configuration can best be described as an envelope with handles.
On "wrap around" holster designs a single piece of material is typically attached at the upper edge of the holster and folded back of the holster pouch and then sewn to a point on the upper edge or lower part of the back of the holster to form one large vertical loop of holster material through which the waist belt of the wearer is threaded. This resulting design causes the holster to hang on the waist belt of the user in a very haphazard and loose manner and thus allows significant movement of the holster and handgun. Even more critical, this "wrap around" type of holster permits the handgun to become angled outwardly, away from the body of the user, and thus makes the handgun vulnerable to being forcibly removed from the holster without authorization.
Because of the physics of these designs of construction, although the wearer tightens the waist belt securely, the center of the holster, where the weight of the handgun is, is not fastened or secured and therefore has a tendency to flop outwardly, away from the wearer's body. In doing so the butt and upper frame of the handgun are exposed to others in a manner which makes it easy for an adversary to jerk the weapon from the holster, even when a securing device is in place.
Likewise, almost all holsters have belt slits which are from one and one fourth, to two inches in length, through which the wearer laces a waist belt. If the wearer uses a belt of smaller width than the length of the slits in the holster, the resulting open, or excess, space in the slits allows the holster to rock up and down loosely on the belt and allows the outward flop of the holster and handgun to be exaggerated because of the slack. Likewise the resulting slack allows the holster to "walk" or move forwards and backwards on the wearer's belt rather than remaining in the place the wearer wishes it to remain. This problem can cause the holster and handgun to become mispositioned to the point that it becomes difficult for the user to access the handgun.
For a holster to work properly, there should always be a belt loop on the wearer's apparel which should be integrated into the lacing of the holster on the belt. This secures it in place when the handgun is withdrawn from the holster. Because clothing manufacturers do not have a standardization of where the belt loops on their garments are sewn, quite often the wearer has to wear the holster too far forward or backward of the desired positioning in order to take advantage of the proper lacing of the holster onto the belt.